


Nothing Else Matters

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Romantic Angst, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, The Amber Spyglass Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28225395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: At that moment, his task, this whole war, all of that ceased to matter. Only Lyra mattered. He's going to find her or he will die trying. He decided right then and there that he would find her and save her, and he would never let anyone tear them apart again.-------Extended scene + post season 2 AU. Spoilers for season 2 finale and The Amber Spyglass
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Will Parry, Lyra Belacqua/Will Parry
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	Nothing Else Matters

**Author's Note:**

> So... How are we feeling after that finale?  
> It crushed me. I read the books, I knew what was gonna happen but it still fucking destroyed me. And I was so angry that we didn't see Will finding out Lyra was gone! I wanted his reaction! (Cause I haven't suffered enough apparently)
> 
> This is how I cope.
> 
> This fic is based on the show canon but it does contain small spoilers from The Amber Spyglass, mostly revolving around Lyra's rescue but I also changed some stuff and moved things around. So if you haven't read the books and you don't want to be spoiled, leave this fic for later.
> 
> ENJOY!

Violent sobs ripped out from Will's throat as he leaned over his father's body, his forehead pressed against the man's chest. He could smell the blood that stained the stones underneath him and soaked the ground. He couldn't believe that after all these years he got to spent only a few precious minutes with his father before one bullet from a rifle took him away from him forever.

This was not how he had imagined it. He was supposed to bring his father home. Bring the family together and help mom heal. They were supposed to be together again.

However, fate wanted otherwise.

Will had a task ahead of him. He didn't want it, but he had no influence on it either. His father said a war was coming. But why should he, Will Parry, be a part of it? He hated war. He hated violence. But The Subtle Knife had chosen him. There was no turning back. His father believed Will was strong enough to handle it, so Will couldn't let him down now. The only way to honor his memory was to complete his task, which was to deliver the knife to Lord Asriel. At first, Will wasn't sure where he remembered the name from, but now he realized that Lyra had mentioned it several times. Then he knew who the man was - Lyra's father. The same man who murdered her best friend Roger to tear the skies apart and go to another world.

She won't be happy to be forced to face him again. 

Will wiped the tears from his cheeks and stood up. He must return to the camp and tell her about everything. He looked at his father one last time, wishing they could have spent more time together. There was so much he wanted to tell him. So much he wanted to ask him. But the chance for that was lost forever.

On the way, he found his cloak, lying abandoned on the stones. It was old and worn out, but as Will threw it over his shoulders and pulled the hood over his head, he felt a little bit better. This way, he could have a piece of his dad always with him.

* * *

As he approached their stopping point, he felt a strange, unpleasant feeling. His insides twisted uncomfortably as he sensed something was wrong, though he didn't know exactly what. At first glance, everything looked fine. A hand of the sleeping witch peeked from behind the boulder in front of him, the woman taking the opportunity to rest in the warm sun.

Only she wasn't sleeping at all. As he got closer, he noticed that although she was breathing, there was no life in her at all. Her skin turned gray, and her eyes, staring blindly into space, became glazed with a milky haze.

Chills ran down his spine and his breathing quickened.

Specters.

If they found them here and attacked the witch in her sleep… 

He looked up and froze. The place by the rock where he had left Lyra asleep less than half an hour ago was empty. Her backpack was still there, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Lyra?" he called out, stepping cautiously from between the rocks. He kept the knife ready. "Lyra, are you here?"

With a trembling hand, he picked up her backpack, the worst theories already forming in his head. He pulled it open and peered inside - the alethiometer was still in place. The sight of the golden device was like a punch in the gut - Lyra absolutely never parted with it, unless she was forced to do so. Panic grew in his chest with each passing second.

Then he saw marks in the sand, right under the rock. Torn soil, as if someone was kicking and bracing themselves, pressing their heels into the ground. Next to it there were prints of heels, as if from women's shoes, which excluded witches because they walked barefoot. Shoe prints led over the rock and along the path they had come from.

And right behind them was another trail, the prints of little monkey paws.

"Oh no." a whisper escaped from Will's chest, as if someone had clenched a fist on him and squeezed his last breath out of him.

Her mother. A woman with a golden monkey deamon, the one who made Lyra tremble with terror. The one who was hurting her. Stalking her. The one who was Lyra's worst nightmare.

"Lyra?!" he screamed, frantically looking around. Maybe there was still a chance. They couldn't have gone far. Tears stung his eyes. "LYRA!"

Silence. A lone bird sprang up from a nearby tree, startled by his screaming. His voice echoed among the rocks, but no answer came back.

Lyra was gone.

Mrs. Coulter kidnapped her while Will wasn't there. When he allowed himself to leave her alone for a moment, because he felt a false sense of security.

He put his hands on his head, clutching his hair in his fists, and fell to his knees, letting another wave of tears roll down his cheeks. Another sob shook his body. How did it happen that he lost both his father and his best friend in one day? How could his world crumble in a matter of minutes? How could he let this happen?

"No… no, Lyra. No, God please, no…" he sobbed, clutching her backpack to his chest. It wore traces of her scent, which made him want to cry even more.

She was so afraid of failing him. And yet it was him who had failed her because he was not there when she needed him the most. He hadn't protected her. She was his responsibility and he lost her.

At that moment, his task, this whole war, all of that ceased to matter. Only Lyra mattered. He's going to find her or he will die trying. He decided right then and there that he would find her and save her, and he would never let anyone tear them apart again.

He must leave as soon as possible, though he had no idea where to go. He will need a plan. And stocks. It will be difficult, but thanks to Lyra, he was stronger now. She gave him strength, so now he's going to use that strength to get her back.

He stood up on shaky legs, holding her backpack in his fist, his heart filled with determination.

Then the angels appeared.

* * *

His journey was long, difficult and full of dangers. The angels were helpful, even though they didn't treat finding Lyra as a priority. Their job was to bring Will to Lord Asriel, but he had insisted he wouldn't go anywhere with them until she was safe. 

It was them who discovered that Mrs. Coulter and her daughter somehow came back to their world and hid deep in the mountains in the southwest. Will got there after a few weeks of sailing with Iorek Byrnison, the king of the armed bears. In the village, he met a girl named Ama, who told him that the woman had found refuge in a cave near the waterfall and that Lyra was being kept in an unnatural sleep. Ama pressed a vial of white powder into his hand, instructing him on how to use it to wake her up.

Now he just had to figure out how to get her out of there.

* * *

It went easier than he expected, but it wasn't without complications.

He found a world where he stumbled upon a small wooden cabin hidden deep in a dense oak forest. It was perfect for a temporary shelter. A short distance away, he managed to choose a place where he could cut a window right into the cave. It was good enough to just drag Lyra to the other side and close it, he will try to wake her up when they're safe.

When he opened the window, suddenly she was one step away from him and Will lost touch with reality for a moment. After being separated for so long, he finally saw her again and his heart wanted to cry out in joy. He reached out and brushed a lock of brown hair from her sweat-covered forehead. His fingers caressed her pale cheek. She had a fever and was shivering. Pantalaimon, wrapped around her neck as a white ermine was whimpering softly.

Will looked around. Lyra's mother slept near the cave entrance, with her back turned to them. The golden monkey was curled up at her feet.

He held his breath and silently stepped to the other world. He sheathed the knife and carefully slipped his hands under Lyra's limp body, one under her back and the other under her bent knees.

Then he heard a click of a weapon's safety lock.

Very slowly, he looked up and stared directly at the gun barrel pointed at his face. Mrs. Coulter stood over him with her finger on the trigger.

"So you must be Will." she whispered in an icy voice. "I should have guessed. You're the boy I saw at Carlo's house back then."

Will held up his trembling hands.

"How do you know my-"

"Lyra mumbles it all the time in her sleep, calling for you. It's pathetic, really." she rolled her eyes, then waved the pistol, motioning him to stand up. He did so obediently, never taking his eyes off her. "If you're here to take her away, forget it. She's not going anywhere. She's safe with me."

"Lyra would think otherwise."

"Her opinion doesn't matter at the moment." the woman hissed through clenched teeth. She looked more like a snake than a human right now. "The Magisterium is hunting her as we speak. She is far more important than any of you could ever imagine. And only I, as her mother, can provide her with adequate protection. Whether she wants it or not."

Anger gurgled inside him like boiling lava. If it wasn't for the gun pointed at him and the golden monkey lurking behind the woman's legs, Will would now be pressing his knife to her throat.

"Is that why you drugged her?" he growled. "You're keeping her in a coma so she doesn't run away from you?"

Mrs. Coulter's mouth curved up in a warm smile, though it was not the sincere smile his mother would have worn. It was a broken smile, soaked in poison.

"It's all for her safety, darling."

"Yeah, because kidnapping your own child, poisoning her and holding her against her will is an incredible proof of motherly love."

Her hand trembled, and her fingers gripped the hilt of her revolver so hard her knuckles turned white. Will noted with satisfaction that his words had pulled a delicate string. But as he saw the madness flash in her eyes, he realized that she was now even more erratic than before.

He dared to look at Lyra. She seemed so small and vulnerable. He couldn't believe it was the same girl who held such strength and courage within her.

And this woman reduced her to a motionless doll, tossed on the ground like garbage. And she dared to claim it's all out of love.

He reached out to touch his friend again, but the woman wouldn't let him.

"Don't move." she ordered, and Will froze. "I don't know under what circumstances you met my daughter, but you can forget her now. She is mine and I will not let you-"

The stone walls trembled with sudden explosions, the interior of the cave lit by a glow of fire from the outside. The noice was unbearable.

This was his chance. Mrs. Coulter turned to see what's going on, so he grabbed Lyra by the legs and began to pull her towards the window. He wasn't fast enough though and the woman grabbed her daughter's hand, pulling her the other way. Another shock rattled the cave, but neither of them would let go. A gust of wind from the woods pushed Will's hood down over his head, but he didn't give up.

Then something surprising happened.

The golden monkey jumped on the woman's hand and sank its teeth into her wrist. Mrs. Coulter released Lyra and, with a cry of pain, clutched the wound, staggering backwards. This gave Will the time he needed to pull Lyra through the cut and close it. Just before he ran his fingers over the last centimeters of the window, he heard Mrs. Coulter's terrifying scream from the other side.

* * *

It was only when he carried Lyra to the cabin and laid her down on the bed that he allowed himself a moment of rest. He made it. He got her back. Now it's time to wake her up. He made sure the angels were patrolling the area around their hideout, then pulled a vial of white powder from his pocket. He lifted Lyra's head, allowing Pan to slide down onto the pillow, and carefully put the medicine on her lips.

It dragged for a few minutes, and Will was already starting to worry that it wouldn't work, but then Lyra shifted in his arms, wrinkled her nose, and slowly opened her eyes.

Whe she realized she was awake, her eyes widened and she pushed him away, then crawled to the other corner of the bed in panic, breathing rapidly, pale with fear. Pan climbed on her lap.

"Hey! Hey, it's alright." he said quickly and approached her. "It's me, Will."

He didn't notice that he still had the hood on so he threw it off now and showed her his face, smiling.

"See? It's me. I'm here. You're safe."

"W-Will?"

He knelt on the mattress in front of her and took her hands in his, tears shining in his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me." he said. "Don't be afraid. She's not here. It's all over now."

She sucked in a huge gulp of air and tears poured from her eyes. Her hands began to tremble. Then she fell into his arms, sobbing his name.

Pulling her close to him, Will began to cry as well. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to his chest, hiding his wet face in her hair. She smelled of dirt and smoke.

"Oh, Lyra." he gasped and hugged her tighter. Her fingers dug into his shoulder blades, clinging desperately to him, and he felt her body shiver against him. She was crying uncontrollably now, her tears soaking the fabric of his sweatshirt. "Lyra…"

"I was so scared, Will." she mumbled. "She was there, she was following us. I wanted to call out to you, scream, but she wouldn't let me. Then I woke up in that cave but she immediately put me back to sleep… Will, I thought I would never see you again."

He leaned away slightly and cupped her face in his hands. He wiped her tears with his thumbs and she reached up to his cheek to do the same. They were so close now their noses almost touched.

"I'm so sorry, Lyra." he whispered, lowering his head, his voice breaking on her name. "I should have been there. I should have protected you. I thought I could walk away just for a few minutes, I wasn't far at all. And then... Then she took you away from me. I was so scared. It's all my fault."

"Please don't say that." she turned his face to her so he could meet her eyes. "You couldn't have known. None of us knew. She probably would have found another opportunity. Will, she… she can control the specters. I've seen her do it. If you were there, she might have hurt you and…"

Her last words turned to whispers and she staggered, closing her eyes. Had Will not been holding her, she would have fallen on the pillows. He pulled her closer, his arm wrapped around her back.

"Lyra, are you okay?" he lifted her chin with his other hand. "Hey, look at me. What's going on?"

"I feel so tired… and so cold."

"Here." Will hurriedly stripped off his father's cloak, then took off his sweatshirt and helped Lyra put it on. He reached for the bottle of water on the bedside table and the protein bar he had prepared there earlier. He unscrewed the bottle and put it to her mouth. "Drink. You're weak, you need to regain strength. You should eat something too."

She took a few sips and ate half a bar, then stated that she could not swallow any more now. In the meantime, her deamon curled up on one of the pillows and fell asleep.

Will put everything back in its place and hugged her again, as if only by touching her he could convince himself that this was real. That she's here with him and she is safe. They are back together and that was the most important thing.

"Better?" he asked, studying her face. The color was slowly returning to her pale cheeks. Lyra nodded sleepily. "You should lay down. I know you are probably sick of sleeping, but you need some rest… we both need it."

"Honestly, I feel like I haven't slept at all in all this time." she admitted with a weak smile, but then fear appeared back on her face. Her fingers tightened on his forearms. "Please, don't go."

Will felt a painful stab in his chest. She was so scared. The thought of being left alone caused her to cry again, and it was the second time today that Will became filled with anger at the memory of what that horrible woman had done to her. He hated her. He hated everyone who had ever made Lyra cry, who had ever caused her pain.

He put his hand to her cheek and she covered it with her own. They didn't take their eyes off each other even for a second.

"I'm not leaving." he promised her in a soft, low voice. "I won't make that mistake ever again. I'm here. And I won't ever let anyone separate us."

Her glassy eyes stared at him as intensely as if she was looking for confirmation of his words in his very soul. He kept stroking her cheek slowly with his thumb, trying to remember the feeling of her soft skin under his touch. He glanced at her lips, and his heart began to beat faster. He caught her doing the same, her eyes fell on his lips too.

Their breaths merged into one as they simultaneously leaned in towards each other. The world stood still around them. Their foreheads touched, their noses brushing. Both hesitated for a moment and held their breaths. Will guessed that if his heart was beating so wildly right now, then Lyra's heart must have held its pace. Their eyes locked for a split second before their lips touched slowly, coming together in a soft kiss.

Her lips tasted sweet, a bit like the strawberries he often bought at the bazaar on his way from school. He kissed her slowly, enjoying the softness and trying to remember as much as possible from this moment. As they pulled away from each other, it was like the whole world, all worlds were holding their breath.

"I… I wanted to do this for a while now." Will breathed out. Lyra grinned at him.

"Me too, actually."

When they clung to each other again, they did so with much greater passion. His arms wrapped around her waist tightly and pulled her to him so that she was now sitting on his lap. She pressed her whole body against him, wanting to be as close as possible, and carded her fingers through his hair. They kissed desperately, passionately, trying to make up for the weeks of separation they had endured, but at the same time a bit awkwardly as well because it was the first kiss of their lives for both of them. Their noses clashed, making them giggle, they were out of breath, but they didn't care.

Without breaking the kiss, Will turned them both over and slowly laid Lyra down on the pile of blankets. They didn't even pay attention to Pantalaimon, who turned into a butterfly at the last moment and flew away to not get squashed by them. Nothing mattered to them but each other right now.

"I love you, Will." Lyra whispered breathlessly. "I love you so much."

He smiled against her lips and rested his forehead on hers again.

"I love you too, Lyra. I loved you from that first day, I only realized it when I lost you."

He felt her hands slide down his back and a pleasant shiver ran through his entire body. He never thought he could feel things so strongly like he did now.

"Let's never split up again." she sighed.

"Never."

He lay down beside her and pulled her against him, letting her rest her head on his chest, then pulled the blanket over them both. He had been lucky to find this place - the cabin didn't seem inhabited right now, but it had everything they needed.

"I've missed you." Lyra mumbled into his shirt. He bowed his head and kissed her forehead.

"I've missed you too. But it's over now. We're together. Nothing else matters."

Pantalaimon flew back down on the pillow and turned into an ermine. Curling up next to Will's head, he brushed his tail against his cheek, but after what had just happened, neither he nor Lyra cared about the taboo. Will even dared to think that Pan did it on purpose.

Moments later, the three of them were asleep, for the first time in months without nightmares, and finally safe.

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea at 1 a.m. last night. Writing almost kisses is killing me so THERE YOU GO. Why the hell not?  
> I hope you liked it! Kudos and comments as always appreciated. If you want, check out my other works and I am still waiting for someone to knock on Tumblr door to chat  
> *crickets*  
> It's @not-so-mundane-after-all-97 FYI  
> SEE YA NEXT TIME! 'Cause I am not done with fixing this episode's canon.


End file.
